Apparatus for locking desks



(No Model.)

J. W. YOHO. APPARATUS FOR LOCKING DESKS.

No. 540,289. Patented June 4, 1895.

rr I/////// FIG-2.

FIE-3-3..

J M r I wilt UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN \VILSON YOl'lO, OF CHEXVTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR LOOKING DESKS.

sPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 5&0289, dated June 4, 1895,

Application filed March 14, 1894. Serial No. 503,591. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JonN WILsoN Yono, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chewton, in the county of Lawrence and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Locking Desks, 6150.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in looking devices for drawers in desks and other articles of furniture, particularly to roll or other upright top desks.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and improved device of this character which will possess advantages in point of efficiency, durability and inexpensiveness.

To these ends my invention consistsin certain improvements in the construction and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more particularly described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a desk having myinvention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on the line a; as of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar view on the line 3 y of Fig. 1. Figs. i and 5 are front and side elevations, respectively, of the locking bars or pins. Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional detail taken on same plane as Fig. 3.

Like numerals of reference denote like parts throughout the drawings.

This device may be applied to either roll or flat top desks in either case a false top being supplied on which is mounted the operating mechanism of the device, thus incasing the same between the false top and the top proper of the desk.

The device consists of the fiat disk] rigidly mounted on the pin or bolt 2 and having laterally extending arms 3 and 4, the bolt 2 having its lower end pivotally mounted in the bearing plate 5, said bearing plate being countersunk into the false top 6 of the desk, the upper end of the bolt 2 extending upwardly through the top proper and terminating in a thumb nut or key '7. ihe bolt 2 is also braced and guided by the plate 8 which has its ends bent downwardly and outwardly to form bearing surfaces through which the plate 8 is screwed or otherwise fastened to the false top 6. The arms 3 and l of the disk 1 are perforated to receive one end of links or connecting rods 9, the other ends of which are connected to the bars or pins which communicate with and operate directly upon the drawers. The bars 10 and 11 lock the drawers at the right and left of the desk respectively, and the bar 12 looks the center drawer. The arm 3 of the disk 1 has two perforations, the outer one receiving the end of the link rod connecting it to the lock bar 12, and the inner perforation receiving the end of the link rod connecting with the lock bar 11 as shown, the arm a being connected in like manner to the lock bar 10. The movement of the disk 1 is limited in both directions by the pins 2'.

The lock bars are formed at their tops with an offset 13 extending a short distance at right-angles to the bar. This offset is perforated near its outer end to receive one end of the link rod as hereinbefore described and acts as a crank to turn the lock bar upon the pull or push of the link rod. For a short distance down from the top the lock bars are round. The rest of the distance they are cut away to form a half round bar, the flat surface being normally adjacent to the side of the drawers, but when in a locked position the bars are turned and a portion of the round surface is thrown into a notch 14 cut in the side of the drawers 15 as shown, thus engaging and locking the drawers against outward movement. The lower end of the locking bars is reduced and terminates in a bearing point. The locking bars are mounted in vertical half round holes or openings 16 formed in the inner walls 17 of the drawer casings on either side of the desk. The locking bars 10 and 11 lock the tiers of drawers at the right and left of the desk respectively and consequently extend the full length from the top to the bottom of the desk engaging each successive drawer in its operation, while the lock bar 12 having only one, the center drawer to lock, is much shorter than the other two and acts in a reverse manner, having its offset arranged in the opposite directionas shown. This bar also bears in the inner Wall of the drawer casing inthe same manner as the others.

The thumb nut or key 7 may be covered by an ornamental ink stand of suitable construction as shown in dotted line Fig. 1 or otherwise hidden from view.

In operating this device all that is necessary to lock or unlock all drawers below the top is to turn the thumb nut 7 as far as the limited movement of the arm 3 will allow.

The advantages of this device consist in the simplicity in the arrangement of the parts, the efficiency of the operation and the security with which the drawers are locked. Furthermore it is not necessary to lock the top of the desk in order to look the drawers as is usually the case in roll top desks.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the use of upright and roll top desks as the device may be used in fiat top desks as well as other articles of furniture containing tiers of drawers without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is In a roll or other upright top desk, the combination with the drawers, of means for locking said drawers consisting of vertical looking bars provided with sets of short crank arms, said bars being half round and mounted in openings of the inner wall of the drawer casings, the crank arms and connecting link rods, the laterally projecting arms, the flat disk rigidly connected to a key pin or bolt, a plate countersunk in the false top of the desk, and means for operating the key pin, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I hereunto affix my signature.

JOHN WILSON YOHO. [n s.]

In presence of WM. PARSHALL, CHAS. STAPF. 

